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Scars is an example of one that is well done: the Legion it features is living and breathing and distinct from others and you know it at every moment without being beat over the head with it. You see how they like speed. You see how they like to catch foes off guard. You see how they prefer to disengage from a disadvantageous battle rather than fight through the killzone. Yet they are not doing this because the most scarred dude in the scarred Chapter of the scarred Legion consulted the scarred bones of the scarred animal who was named Scar in life (and voiced by Jeremy Irons). They instead do these things because you see how they think, act and feel. What motivates them, etc...

Yes...a far cry from Kyme's blazing flame marines of the burning anvil and dragon fire Edited by b1soul
It's time for the traitors to start taking their lumps and we know it doesn't end well for them. Rarely did loyalists get any major wins... mostly traitors winning big time after time... very predictable. I have enjoyed many of the novels though.

This is something I've thought about for a while in the series, and might like to write more about when it's finished, but right now in my opinion, the following have had solid portrayals in the series:

 

White Scars

Space Wolves

World Eaters

Word Bearers

Alpha Legion

Night Lords

Emperor's Children

Thousand Sons

Ultramarines

Iron Warriors

 

Not everything done with them was good, but in each case there are a selection of stories (and in most cases a full novel) which I would be happy pointing to as a good illustration of the Legion and what identifies it.

 

More mixed, in my opinion, have been the Dark Angels, Raven Guard, Sons of Horus, Blood Angels, Iron Hands and Imperial Fists. I don't feel any of them have been done truly badly on the whole, but nor do they stand out as much as the above, which can be due to too many authors not getting a good handle on them (Dark Angels), their portrayal being a bit too bland compared to the above (Raven Guard) or just not that much being written about them period (Blood Angels).

 

The only ones I'd say really haven't been done well are the Salamanders and Death Guard. With the Death Guard, that could still change, as we still have their novel to come, and they've had some decent appearances, there's just been so little of it. With the Salamanders I don't despise Nick Kyme's work, but they've still had probably the most dry and uninteresting writing within the series as a whole, made worse by being done almost exclusively by a single author.

Edited by Tymell

It's time for the traitors to start taking their lumps and we know it doesn't end well for them. Rarely did loyalists get any major wins... mostly traitors winning big time after time... very predictable. I have enjoyed many of the novels though.

 

They have a whole ten thousand years to take lumps. The Heresy is a period in which the Traitors do well and so it is going to be predictable for large engagements to be in the forces of Horus' favour because the heresy ends at the feet of the Emperor, Its essentially a Traitor victory until that last crucial moment. It was referenced in a few other threads, The Scouring is where the majority of the Loyal Legions start to win and they continue to do so after that for a very very long time. 

 

When they go into the scouring, mark my words, there will be almost no traitor victories and piles on piles of Loyalist victories. Although they might be bloody affairs.

I'm disappointed by the lack of content focusing on the Imperial Army, although I suppose Tallarn remedied that somewhat and they do get their moments. I realise they're a very recent, Forge World-penned creation but I would have loved to see at least one book revolving around the Solar Auxilia. 

 

Other than that it's a shame about the lack of really any Death Guard focus. Even the White Scars had their moment in the sun and whilst we're barrelling towards the finale it's going to be a shame that we'll only get in-depth with Morty's Gang at their most important moment. I get the impression it won't feel as if there's been as much buildup to it from their perspective, at least not until we're literally a few hundred pages away from it. 

Edited by Lord Marshal

I just wish how the Death Guard were shown in FW books would come out more in the BL novels. Chris Wraight did a bang up job on them but he needs some DG centric novels to really expound on them. I know that is not going to happen because he confirmed with me on twitter that he's not scheduled to write any DG in the future. It is a shame. DG are such fascinating characters. They threw off hideous monsters on their own world and do whatever is necessary to free humanity from other monsters the DG encounter in the Crusade...just to become literal monsters themselves.

We see some of that in Wright's depictions but dammit we need more. A Legion that freely used phosphex, rad grenades and wouldn't even clean their white armor off between engagements out of stubborn pride that rightly saw itself as humanity's necessary attrition to freedom in the galaxy...to Nurgle monsters that had their pride and dignity robbed and were forced to become the very things they hated most.

 

How this does not justify a slew of DG centric novels astounds me.

If Wraight is indeed not doing it as is said here ( and I suppose it's true) then it's going to be James Swallow. He did the recent short story as well.

And he's been away from the HH series for a long time and you'd think he'd get another novel in before the end. And we know this novel is coming.

So all of that together make it 99% certain it's Swallow.

Not meaning to the sound flippant but I suppose we probably should all wait for the "Road to Terra" seminar at the Weekender.  

 

Now that Old Earth and Ruinstorm have been publiscied (along with Blackshields) I don't think there are any further works in the pipeline that we know about?

 

Scars is an example of one that is well done: the Legion it features is living and breathing and distinct from others and you know it at every moment without being beat over the head with it. You see how they like speed. You see how they like to catch foes off guard. You see how they prefer to disengage from a disadvantageous battle rather than fight through the killzone. Yet they are not doing this because the most scarred dude in the scarred Chapter of the scarred Legion consulted the scarred bones of the scarred animal who was named Scar in life (and voiced by Jeremy Irons). They instead do these things because you see how they think, act and feel. What motivates them, etc...

Yes...a far cry from Kyme's blazing flame marines of the burning anvil and dragon fire

 

sarcasm? Or are you truly believe Kyme would ever produce an interesting SM novel?

 

Tymell

It's hard to make judgement on IF books quality by that point - cause where was only 1 novel about them - PoD (and still half of the book is an AL story :whistling: )

 

 

The Ultramarines will be so super awesome in the scouring. It should just be called "The ultras scour"

Smurfs marathon is better :teehee:

 

This just makes me worried about who is to write the "Doom of the Death Guard" novel.

In my humble opinion - there are only two possible contenders sadly - Swallow and Haley. Due to a lot of reason.

 

This just makes me worried about who is to write the "Doom of the Death Guard" novel.

In my humble opinion - there are only two possible contenders sadly - Swallow and Haley. Due to a lot of reason.

 

 

Swallow did do a good job with Exocytosis. Which was a great short. 

 

If i have to place my bets though, it would be Chris Wraight. He has done a fair amount of work for the Death Guard recently. 

 

 

This just makes me worried about who is to write the "Doom of the Death Guard" novel.

In my humble opinion - there are only two possible contenders sadly - Swallow and Haley. Due to a lot of reason.

 

 

Swallow did do a good job with Exocytosis. Which was a great short. 

 

If i have to place my bets though, it would be Chris Wraight. He has done a fair amount of work for the Death Guard recently. 

 

 

Wraight is doing another Scars and Khan Primarchs novel - he would simply have no time to write Death Guard.

Exocytosis was good - but previous Swallow HH novels were bad and horrible, sadly.

I'm not really a fan of how Sanguinius has been portrayed, that's about it for me.

 

Like originally it was supposed to be such a big deal that he took out Ka'Bandha, and now that's gone with it being a, "meh, join the club" thing.

 

Originally he was shown to be a vengeful angel when he is betrayed or threatened. Now that's gone.

 

In the codex he was made the warmaster when he got to Terra, but I have a feeling the novels will retcon that.

 

He just seems to sit around and mope.

Edited by Arkangilos

Hopefully Ruinstorm will feature Sanguinius changing from the moping angel to the avenging angel. Has there been a book with him in it that doesn't have him crying at some point? He tears up on Murder and during the sentencing on Nikea. I can't distinctly remember him crying in Fear to Tread or Pharos, but I wouldn't put it past him

Hopefully Ruinstorm will feature Sanguinius changing from the moping angel to the avenging angel. Has there been a book with him in it that doesn't have him crying at some point? He tears up on Murder and during the sentencing on Nikea. I can't distinctly remember him crying in Fear to Tread or Pharos, but I wouldn't put it past him

"I can't distinctly remember him crying in Fear to Tread or Pharos, but I wouldn't put it past him" - well he did. And that's Swallow fault in depiction which ruined half of the Angel vision. I can't see him on the same level with Angron and Horus anymore

Can't really lay it at Swallow's feet though, Horus Rising was Abnett and 1k Sons was McNeill, both of which have the same slightly-too-teary depiction of him. And if three of the more senior authors show him that way than I guess that's just Sanguinius. I'm excited to see Annandale's take on him

Does the fact a character cries have any impact on their strength? I mean in my view the most emotional characters in the Horus Heresy have always been some of the worst to face as well, certainly if the Eternity Gate is any indication.

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